The Italian two-wheel vehicle manufacturer Aprilia offers an airbag for motorcyclists. Herein, the airbag is worn like a vest and in the event of a fall inflates abruptly. The airbag is attached to the motorcycle via a release cord. As soon as the motorcycle is inclined by more than a specific amount, the release cord activates a safety valve. The airbag fills within three hundredths of a second.
The protective motorcycle suit according to the present invention has the advantage that for the airbag there is no mechanical attachment between the protective motorcycle suit and the motorcycle. This is thanks to the fact that information and power are transmitted via a wireless connection. This means the motorcyclist and passenger, if present, have greater freedom of movement, and the restraint means does not hamper them. Moreover, it is possible, for example, to avoid a situation in which the motorcyclist forgets to plug in a connector when getting on or unplug it when getting off, which ensures a higher acceptance level for such restraint means among motorcyclists and their passengers.
It is especially advantageous that the at least one coil is arranged in the seat area of the suit for transferring power, so that in conjunction with an opposite coil located in the motorcycle seat area this constitutes a transducer.
Furthermore, it is advantageous that the radio station used for information transfer transmits in the microwave range, the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical Use) frequency bands being made available for short range applications of this kind, this being in the gigahertz range and hence also the microwave range. This relatively high frequency range that has been made available for short range applications does not interfere with other nearby communications connections.
Furthermore, it is advantageous that the trigger device that is attached to the motorcycle is connectable to sensors for detecting a collision, so that in the event of a collision the trigger device triggers the airbags in the protective motorcycle suit via communication via the radio stations that are provided. Furthermore, the device according to the present invention has a seat occupancy detection system, which functions here in particular by measuring the phase shift of the given coils in the motorcycle seat areas.